Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects 3-4% of the population, is characterized by inflammation and pain of joints. While the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis is not completely understood, both steroid and non-steroidal antiinflammatory therapy has been used to alleviate the symptoms of this illness. It is to this latter class of non-steroidal antiinflammatory agents that the compounds of the present invention relate.
The potent non-steroidal antiinflammatory agent, piroxicam, 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-N-(2-pyridyl)-2H-1,2-benzothiazine-3-carboxamide 1,1-dioxide was reported in U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,584. More recently, antiinflammatory activity was reported in non-steroidal oxindole-3-carboxamides, U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,453.